I did not finish this book. As the explanation why contains spoilers, I added the details only in my storygraph review (link below) where it is easier to hide spoilers.

The blurb of this book sounded very promising and like a story I could really enjoy. Sadly the small things bothering me kept piling up and at some point I didn't want to continue.

Things I did like:
- the premise of the story (friends-to-lovers, forced proximity)
- two queer characters in a straight-looking relationship, especially asexual representation in the demisexual main character
- The writing was really good, I liked the way it was written and it was easy to read, dialogues and banter were fun

Things that I didn't like:
- Minas sexuality is never mentioned in the story. When you know what demisexuality is you can recognise it in how she describes her feelings, but not when you don't know about the identity beforehand. Of course it's great to have a story where a character is just queer and lives their life and it's not a major plot point. But as it is mentioned in the blurb, I at least expected the label to be mentioned and explained in the book.
- Apparently Mina and Timothy have been best friends for 5 years, but I didn't really feel that friendship in the first part of the book. I would have loved to hear more about their past, that would have helped to understand their friendship better.
- The miscommunication was too extreme for my taste (more detail in spoiler in storygraph review)

Reasons why I dnf'd:
- Timothys behaviour, he was so disrespectful of Minas boundaries. Of course some of the miscommunication was her fault but there were two scenes especially that made me dnf, One in chapter 12 and the end of chapter 14 (more detail in spoilers in storygraph review).

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/b8ee21fe-af71-46b3-b11d-d96fe8b7008b?redirect=true

I wish that I had liked this book better than I did.
The writing was fine, but I struggled a lot with Timothy's character. He was very overgrown man-child, even the humor came across as cringe (but suited the character).
I feel like he did not really come to terms with the ending of his career, and I wish I'd seen some growth there.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I appreciate a sex positive, LGBTQIA friendly read. That’s the good part about this book.

I was not a fan of either main characters’ personalities. Both annoyed me to no end. I also don’t believe the love story. It was so rushed giving little to no background over their five-year friendship, that really wasn’t a friendship to Timothy. He always pined for her, buying her an engagement just a few months after meeting.

I would like to know more about Nic and Jessie. That is a story I’d like to read. There was little to no explanation of that.

It felt like so much was left out of this book, and it just became about how bad Timothy wanted to have sex with Mina all the time. I just don’t believe the love story.

🪴ARC Review🪴

Love and Other Risky Business by Sarah Brenton

This friends to lovers story had a lot of humor, spice, and the banter was great. Timothy and Mina had a strong friendship that kept growing as they started to fall for each other. Timothy falls first and is head over heels in love while Mina struggles with his adrenaline junkie personality. I enjoyed how the couple was together for most of the book and not just for the “happy ever after” and you got to see the growth in both characters going through hard times.

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Super Sweet and spicy. Loved Mina and Timothy! So different yet they work so well. It’s got all the good tropes…friends to lovers, he falls first, and chaotic/careful (is that one? It is now!) Also the spice in this 🥵🌶️ enough said haha. This Book definitely needs to be on your TBR come October!!

Love and Other Risky Business was a great read! The cover attracted me right away, but it was the storyline that kept me hooked. In this book we meet kind hearted and crazy over his best friend Timothy a stuntman who is in love with his best friend Mina a seamstress who works in Timothy’s Hollywood world.

Timothy is determined to prove his feelings for Mina, who has growing feelings for him, but is concerned abt the seriousness of them when Timothy gets into an accident on set and confesses his love in proposal form to Mina.

Keeping an eye on Timothy his accident feelings begin to deepen and grown and these two may be on their way to the best unscripted love story of all time!

I loved the dialogue, storyline, and characters. For some reason I kept picturing Channing Tatum as Timothy. This would make a great movie! Very excited for this one and for readers to get their hands on this!

This book was so freaking cute and unexpected! I absolutely adored it!

From the sweet illustrated cover, I really expected Love and Other Risky Business to be a cute rom-com—and it totally was—but it was also spicy in the BEST possible way.

I loved Timothy and the emotional journey he went through, the way he adored and cared for his best friend without ever being pushy about his feelings, and how when he finally got his girl, he refused to let go.

Mina is equally as transformative, her own journey of growth toward learning to expect the unexpected hit close to home for me.

The book is perfect for someone who wants a beautiful yet spicy story that features bisexual and demisexual representation with the character’s main storyline not revolving around their sexualities like much other queer romance.

This was a very fun read. I loved Tim, he was honestly my favorite part about this book. He was hilarious, adorable, and just gave golden retriever vibes and I loved it. Forced proximity, friends to lovers AND boy falls first all in one! Love love love.

This was such a fun and enjoyable read. I absolutely adored the chemistry between the main characters and their banter was top notch.
I want to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ARC of this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Such an enjoyable story! Loved the sex positivity and the relationship between the characters! Loved the banter, humor, and spice!! Can’t wait for the obvious next book in the series!✨

i have yet to complete it but so far i am in love with this book . i have read half of it and so far i can say its a funny cute book. tim is so funny fr i cannot keep not laughing. the stuff he says and does omg. also their relationship is so cute. its a slowburn book but the spice and the romance is worth the wait . i know when i finish this book that i will 100 love it . it’s definitely a 5 star book

Stuntman Timothy is afraid of telling his best friend, Mina that he is in love with her. But when an on-set accident ends Timonthy's career and nearly his life, he decides to try telling Mina again about his feelings.

Love Mina and Timothy together. Love how shy they both are about their feelings and how long it took for them to end up together. So adorable together.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

A funny and sexy read . Timothy and Mina have been best friends for the last 5 years . They are total different , he is stuntman and she is afraid everything that has to do with adrenaline . They been secretly in love with each other but they are scared to confess their feelings . When one of his stunts ends him in hospital his parents ask her to keep an eye on him for the next 10 weeks while he recovers . So they end up living together . He must retire from the job he loves but it is very difficult for him . When they admit their feelings the only problem they have is his passion for living in the edge . What will win in the end ?
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own .

Thanks to netgalley and publisher for this arc!

I love this trope of forced proximity and friends to lovers and boy falls first and harder all in one! Mina could be annoying at times and Timothy was like a chaotic puppy it was wild ride. I enjoyed the book for most part but her dragging her feet was a bit too long but do like for once in a book you get a good amount of couple together, not just at end for last chapter nonsense! The chemistry and love was there for this couple too.

I adored this friends-to-lovers story! First of all, Timothy aka Timbo is a rascal of the highest order. He's not only a stuntman but also Up To Something at all times. I imagine he was a complete handful as a child and clearly still is, as his parents hire his best friend, Mina, to keep him out of trouble while he recovers from a career-ending head injury. And Mina really has her work cut out for her! Not only is Timbo pretty convinced he's fine to jump off balconies into pools, he's also pretty sure they should be together. But this risk-averse wardrobe department seamstress is already taking new risks with her eco-friendly lingerie business and knows that trusting her heart with someone like Timbo would be too big of a risk.
I loved watching the push and pull between these two characters, all the shenanigans that happen when Timbo is in the mix, and the way their deep friendship turns into a beautiful love story!